Composer Competition – New Music for New York

Call for Submissions

Calling all NYC-area composers—we want your submissions to the Manhattan Choral Ensemble’s signature composition contest, New Music for New York.

The Manhattan Choral Ensemble invites composers living within 50 miles of New York City to submit a short (2.5 – 3 minutes) a cappella work for SATB chorus that evokes life in New York City. The work should be a new composition that has not yet been premiered. Works should require approximately three hours of rehearsal to prepare for performance, and should not contain individual solos. View previous compositions for examples of the level of difficulty at mce.nyc/commissions.

We encourage composers to use texts written by living writers. It is the responsibility of the composer to secure permission to use any texts not in the public domain.

Three winners will be chosen by a committee, including MCE Director Thomas Cunningham, and Artistic Advisors George Andoniadis and Rich Campbell. Each winner will receive a $500 award and a performance by the Manhattan Choral Ensemble at its March 11, 2017, concert at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music. Prior to the performance, the composers will be asked to attend a rehearsal to discuss their piece with the choir. Additionally, one work will be voted on by the audience for an additional award on the night of the performance. The composer of the chosen work will receive an additional $500.